Where to, National Outline Plan 38?

Where to, National Outline Plan 38?

By: Yair Assaf-Shapira

even if no new TAMA38 projects are initiated, completion of the existing projects will add five times the number of residential units which have been built so far, in a process which will take several years to complete

Last week, the discussion about extending the period for the implementation of National Masterplan 38 (NMP38), known in Hebrew by its acronym “Tama 38” was reopened. The plan calls for the reinforcement of the structure of existing residential buildings. As of this writing, the decision is to maintain the plan, in accordance with the recommendation of the Government Authority for Urban Renewal, and contrary to the position of the Planning Administration at the Ministry of Finance. NMP38 is unique in that it allows for construction and forgoes the requirement of submitting a plan – only a building permit is required. However, for the most part, such projects do not encompass services for the residents of the neighborhood, and don’t always include parking for all the people in the building. So what has NMP38 contributed to Jerusalem to date?

According to statistics from the Jerusalem Municipality, there are currently approximately 680 NMP38 projects in various stages of the process, including the ones which have already been completed. Overall, in all these projects, there are 5,660 additional apartments (some of which have already been built and some which are still to be built) – slightly more than the number of apartments in the entire neighborhood of Neve Yaakov (5,100). Of all these apartments, only about 940 (around one-sixth) have received building permits, meaning that construction has been completed, they are under construction, or construction is about to begin. The remainder, which numbers about 4,730 additional apartments, are at various stages of the planning and licensing process. In fact, about half (2,730) of the units which are to be added in the city are still at the earliest stages of the process (prior to licensing). The reality is that even if no new projects are initiated, completion of the existing projects will add five times the number of residential units which have been built so far, in a process which will take several years to complete.

The neighborhoods with the largest numbers of additions of residential units include Mekor Baruch (with the addition of about 510 residential units, in about 30 projects, most of which are in the early planning stages); Ramat Eshkol (with the addition of 490 units); Talpiot (360 units); Kiryat Yovel (290 units); Gilo (240 units); Katamon, Kiryat Moshe and Givat Havradim-Rassco (200 units each).

Translated by Gilah Kahn Hoffmann

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